2016 a Speed Bump on Paris Saint-Germain's Road to the Top of European Football
The year 2016 has not been kind to Paris Saint-Germain. Attempts to usher in the next phase of the project at the Parc des Princes have been stifled as the club has been bedevilled by negative news stories.
Despite collecting another four domestic trophies this year, there is a sense of malaise creeping in.
Serge Aurier's disastrous Periscope session kicked off the year on a sour note, and things have only occasionally rebounded since.
The Champions League exit at the hands of a listless Manchester City side that meekly rolled over in the semi-finals prompted the dismissal of manager Laurent Blanc.
Javier Pastore has been so often injured that he felt compelled to apologise to the club's supporters after suffering his latest problem (h/t L'Equipe)
The loss of iconic forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic and his subsequent replacement in the squad by free transfer and perennial underachiever Hatem Ben Arfa subtracted from the club's sense of invincibility.
Admittedly, Ben Arfa had produced career-best form at OGC Nice, but he has never been a sure thing; PSG should not be in a position to need to take such risks.
The club's identity―confident and unbeatable―has been undermined by an uncertain transfer window, and the unconvincing start to the season has only compounded that.
The appointment of head coach Unai Emery, a far more drawn-out process than should be the case for a club of PSG's stature, was aimed at remedying consistent European underperformance.
Emery admitted as much in an interview with the Observer: "PSG signed me for my CV, for what I’ve achieved in the Europa League."
And yet since his arrival, the club has failed to produce brilliance.
Instead, seemingly relying on the inertia of a superior squad, they have given unconvincing performances at home and abroad.
The 2-0 triumph―though to use such a word is stretching it almost beyond definition―over Nantes on Saturday was a case in point.
Listless and lacking control for large periods, PSG were saved by goalkeeper Kevin Trapp on a number of occasions. Jese Rodriguez's late penalty added an undeserved sheen, but there was no denying the unremarkable nature of both PSG's display and their opposition.
With the victories continuing to pile up, criticism remains muted, but a concrete indication of Paris' decline is fast approaching.
For four of the past five seasons, the team have had the honorific title of "autumn champions," but with both AS Monaco and Nice ahead and playing well, that is unlikely to be the case this time around.
Not since the Olympique Lyonnais of the mid-2000s has a single club been so consistent, but the collapse of Les Gones' imperious position atop French football came rapidly and should serve as a warning to PSG.
It would not be fair to compare PSG with any other club in French football. Given their immense resources, it is virtually impossible that they could suffer a fall from grace comparable with Lyon. But even an off-year would do significant damage.
The ease with which PSG have won Ligue 1 has created a sense that French domestic football lacks the strength in depth of other continental leagues. In turn, any failure to match those comfortable triumphs would seem to hint at significant mismanagement.
Whether or not that sense matches reality is immaterial. PSG have spent the last five years building a brand around domestic invincibility in an attempt to create a self-sustained giant of European football, one that could weather even the withdrawal of Qatar Sports Investments' largesse. Once punctured, it is difficult to reinflate that particular balloon.
Judgement of Emery's first months in charge will be held in check only until the Champions League meeting with Arsenal. Should either side claim three points and all but assure themselves of top spot in Group A, there will be significant overreaction.
If Emery manages to mastermind a victory over one of the Premier League's finest sides, he will be hailed and his domestic struggles forgotten. Similarly, an Arsenal victory would let loose the critics who have thus far been restrained.
In truth, Emery's side have been largely underwhelming but there is evidence of a plan. It is clear that the Spaniard is attempting to change the way his team play, and they are enduring the inevitable teething problems of such a shift.
Defeat to Arsenal in London would be cause for introspection and not alarm. PSG remain in a fundamentally strong position. They are not nearly as strong as they were last season, but that was the end of a cycle.
Emery is overseeing a transition to a far younger squad with the potential to eclipse their predecessors, but that takes time. The changes he is making could be fairly termed "creative destruction," as he deliberately breaks down elements of the successful team that he inherited in an attempt to take them to new heights.
He has guided his team through the group stage of the Champions League and matched Gerard Houllier and Blanc by winning 13 of his first 18 matches in charge. No PSG manager has done better, according to Paris.Canal-historique.
Away from the first team, things appear rosier still.
France's various youth international squads, Les Espoirs, are littered with PSG academy products. Dylan Bahamboula, Jordan Diakiese and Jean-Kevin Augustin are among the names representing the club in the youth ranks, while Presnel Kimpembe and Adrien Rabiot have graduated to the senior side.
Celtic star and regular Espoirs selection Moussa Dembele also spent eight years at the Ooredoo training centre before joining Fulham.
Kimpembe remains uncapped by France head coach Didier Deschamps, but his call-up in October reinforces the sense that PSG's academy is producing talent at a prodigious rate.
That there now exists a clear pathway from academy to first team will only encourage the academy players and help with their development.
Augustin, Rabiot and Kimpembe are now regular members of Emery's side and are helping build a new image for the club.
This has been the most trying year of the QSI era, but that is indicative more of the club's remarkably high standards than of any sort of impending doom.
If this is the lowest ebb for Paris Saint-Germain, then their supporters can count themselves very fortunate indeed.
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